Ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 interacts with and is ubiquitinated by ubiquitin ligase ROC1.

Ribosomal protein S6 kinase (S6K) is involved in the regulation of cell growth and cellular metabolism. The activation of S6K in response to diverse extracellular stimuli is mediated by multiple phosphorylations coordinated by the mTOR and PI3K signaling pathways. We have recently found that both forms of S6K are modified by ubiquitination. Following these findings, we demonstrate here for the first time that S6K1 associates specifically with ubiquitin ligase ROC1 in vitro and in vivo. The interaction was initially identified in the yeast two-hybrid screening and further confirmed by pull-down and co-immunoprecipitation assays. Furthermore, the overexpression of ROC1 leads to an increase in S6K1 ubiquitination. Consistent with this observation, we showed that the steady-state level of S6K1 is regulated by ROC1, since downregulation of ROC1 by specific siRNA promotes stabilization of S6K1 protein. The results suggest the involvement of ROC1 in S6K1 ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation.